Welsh Journals

EARLY CHRISTIAN IRELAND: INTRODUCTION TO THE SOURCES. By Kathleen Hughes. The Sources of History Ltd., in association with Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1972. Pp. 320. £ 4.00 (paper £2.50). This is the sixth volume in this series, and, like its immediate predeces- sor, it deals with one of the Celtic countries. The history of early Christian* Ireland is a minefield for the unwary; its interpretation requires a know- ledge and understanding of the archaeological, legal, literary and topo- graphical evidence as well as a difficult and unfamiliar language. It is superfluous to add that Dr. Kathleen Hughes has all these qualifications; her achievements in this field are well known. In this book she deals in turn with archaeology, including useful appendices on aerial photography and coins, secular and ecclesiastical laws, the annals and secular literature. These are followed by chapters on ecclesiastical learning, hagiography and eleventh- and twelfth-century historical writing, as well as a valuable bibliography, and together they make up an exceptionally clear and interesting book. There is much here that will be of value to students of early Welsh society, literature and institutions; the chapter on the secular laws with its accompanying note by Dr. Charles-Edwards on common farming is of particular interest, while that on the annals is not only a guide through the complexities of a collection of sources described by one scholar as a 'trackless morass' but also an impressive exercise in textual criticism. One also realizes how much more extensive is the source material for early Christian Ireland than that available for Wales during the same period; Dr. Hughes shows just how rich these sources are and what work has been done, is in progress and needs to be done on them, as well as the way in which they can be used to build up a picture of early Irish society. No doubt this book will receive more detailed treatment in more specialized journals at hands more expert than those of the present reviewer; it is, however, fair to add that it is not primarily intended for them but for those who are approaching the subject for the first time, and one reader, at least, has learned a great deal from it. And the dedication reminds us that the tasks of teaching and research are inseparable. A. D. CARR Bangor. EARLDOM OF GLOUCESTER CHARTERS. The Charters and Scribes of the Earls and Countesses of Gloucester to A.D. 1217. Edited by Robert B. Patterson. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1973. Pp. xxiv, 205. 32 plates. £ 10.00. The earldom of Gloucester is being annexed by American scholars. Following Professor Altschul's study of the Clares, 1217-1314, Professor Patterson promises a history of the honour and earldom of Gloucester from c. 1107 to 1217; and meanwhile he has given us a handsomely produced edition of 200 charters of this period issued by members of the first comital family, almost half of which are printed for the first time. Forty-nine charters are given in facsimile to illustrate the